What is the female gaze?

There is no single female gaze – every woman finds different photographic qualities, and different types of men, appealing. There does, however, seem to be patterns of things that more women like and things that fewer women like. Having some idea what these things are is useful for Filament, because we’re trying to provide something that turns more women on in a society awash with popular opinion on the subject, and in which images designed for the gay market have been routinely called ‘women’s erotica’.

So, we scour research databases for relevant findings, and use our research community to fill in the finer points. We then distil this information to guide our photographers. It changes and grows as we find out more. However, slavishly sticking to these principles isn’t a sure-fire way to produce good erotic images; they’re there as a starting point from which our photographers innovate.

These are the kinds of things we’re currently recommending to our photographers:

• Don’t assume you need a gym bunny for a model. Most of the images we publish are of slim to ‘somewhat muscular’ men, but if you’ve got a guy who is very muscular and you think hot, we’ll certainly consider your images.
• Do choose a model with an attractive face. Exactly what makes an attractive face varies according to the beholder - the point is, a model having a great bod isn’t enough.
• Do shoot in interesting, beautiful and/or recognisable environments where it would be reasonably believable that a sexual encounter might take place. Kitchens, the outdoors, plain studio backgrounds or hotel rooms generally work less well, but they may work, depending on what your concept is.
• Do keep some clothes or accessories on your model if appropriate. Things like an open shirt, open trousers, a cravat, a vest, braces/suspenders, belts and various accessories add character and focal points.
• Do include your model’s face in most or all of your shots.
• Do make sure your model’s facial expressions convey eroticism. Have lots of direct gaze and perhaps smiles and laughter, if appropriate.
• Don’t have your model making angry or arrogant facial expressions.
• Do try to capture a sense of like intimacy, connection and flirt in your images. Shirtlessness or nudity do not alone make an image erotic.
• Don’t use B&W or sepia for its own sake. However, we do consider B&W or sepia images, as there are always times when it works best.
• Don’t use body oil on your model. However, a ‘flushed and sweaty’ can be is good.
• Do convey vulnerability in your images if appropriate. However, we don’t want to receive pictures of men looking hurt or abused.
• If you’re a heterosexual or bisexual female, do photograph men in a way that you personally find erotic.

If you’re interested in submitting photography to Filament and want to find out more about what we’re looking for, we have further photographer’s guidelines here.